Witchblade II
by The Little Dragon
Summary: Natalie Demino, a fast talking and even faster fighting cyber crime detective, is still in shock over the death of her best friend and partner when she is given the Witchblade. Chapter 13 Updated - 1-24-04
1. Stranger things have happened

I DO NOT OWN WITCHBLADE, ONLY MY CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!!!

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::: :: ::: : i n t r o d u c t i o n : ::: :: :::

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The blade shone bright red, angry at its master's reluctance. It whispered for her to do it. It hummed in her ears, urging her on. "I'm sorry," Sara muttered. The simple bracelet transformed into an intricately designed gauntlet. "I'm so sorry Gabe," she mumbled again. A scream pierced the night air, followed by the sound of metal slicing through flesh. The wielder slid to the ground, Gabe's words spiraling through her head. "IAN!" The wielder screamed. "It's over all of it," the wielder took the short blade to her chest, and ended her life.

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:: : :: c h a p t e r . .:. . o n e :: : :: 

Her wet hair grazed her lower back lazily as she bent her overly tall, lithe frame over the computer, typing. Striking dark green eyes contrasted against her tea and milk colored skin on the harsh light of the desk lamp. "I've found you," she said triumphantly.

She had been after him for nearly a week - much too long for her liking. It had been going on since the 90s, when computer usage became prevalent. Cyber-homicide. A person - usually a man - would use a chat room to befriend a person - more often than not, a vulnerable young female. The perp would lull the victim into a false sense of security, all the while gaining their trust. After a while, the perp would arrange a meeting, and subsequently rape and kill the victim. It made Natalie Demino sick to her stomach to think of it. Since she was 19, and had graduated from the academy she had been on the cyber crime unit. Two years. Not exactly long enough to be considered a seasoned veteran, but long enough to be respected by her elder partner. Computers as well as the net have changed quite a bit over the years, and the unit had increased in size rapidly. Natalie's partner Katarina Devoux thought it was because a man killed her sister in a similar fashion years ago that she went after the assailants with mindless abandon.

"What's the address?" Katarina rose from her desk several feet away. 

"2287 Greenbough Street in the Villa townhouses," Natalie said smugly. "You owe me ten bucks. I found him first," she said picking up her equipment.

Katarina grinned, equally smug, "Where is your proof?"

"Oh, but there is. We were by the second cubical of computers, at comp. number 4-7-0, right?" Natalie said in a mocking voice. "Look on the sound recording program. You will find your proof. As you said, 'Either 10 buckaroos or get the coffee for a week.'" Natalie laughed merrily, but stopped abruptly. "Sad it took three times before we could find him, eh?"

Katarina nodded solemnly. "You're thinking about Dez, aren't you?" Dez was Natalie's best friend, who was recently murdered by the same man about to be apprehended by the two women detectives.

"Norman Gong. What kind of fucking name is that," Natalie said bitterly. "He won't get away this time, Kat."

"Don't talk like that," Katarina nagged good-naturedly, "you've been makin' me worried since learning all those different ways to beat someone's ass."

Natalie laughed humorlessly. "It's 2010, a girls gotta protect herself."

Kat laughed again, as she finished suiting up to get her perp. "You know, this'll feel really good."

"Really, really good," Natalie said in a hard voice.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The darkness was deafening. It made Natalie want to burst out in song to evade the silence. Kat couldn't sit still, she was anticipating the confrontation about to occur. 

"Do you know how much I would like to just burst in there guns blazing. Cap had the nerve to leave this all on us - women - knowing that this guy is a dedicated woman hater," Natalie said not paying attention to her words. 

Kat sighed, "Come on, he'll be out in a few minutes. He's a rich bastard too. It's sad ain't it?"

Natalie nodded the affirmative. "It really is. The fucker will prob-" she was cut off by the door flying open.

A lanky bald man came down the stairs at full speed. Natalie, the more athletic of the two, followed him after recognizing his face.

Kat, not far behind, was trailing the man the came out of the door after Norman.

All through the night, their heels on the pavement broke the peaceful tranquility.

"Stop, dammit," Natalie screamed. Norman ran into a glass and metal-framed building. The new midtown museum. Natalie followed not far behind. The man headed for the newer yet to be finished exhibits, knocking the patrons leaving, down along the way. Natalie gracefully dodged the people on the marble floor. Norman suddenly pulled out an early model semi-automatic gun. Natalie followed him to a secluded area, and ducked under the tape sectioning the area off. Her footsteps echoed noisily, so she activated her shoe's cushioned soles. Instantly the room was quieted. 

A bullet ricocheted off of the wall's metal frame shattering the quiet. Natalie withdrew her pistol, and aimed in the direction of the shot. A glass display caught her gaze. She walked towards it, lowering her sleek gun and causing the little light to reflect off of the glass. A bracelet occupied its black velvet setting. Not very pretty, but elegant - beautiful nonetheless. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice said softly. Natalie spun around in the direction of the voice. 

Another bullet rang out. It missed Natalie by inches, but slammed into the glass. It exploded, raining crystals over Natalie. She ducked exposing her thin wrists over her head. Another shot exploded the momentary silence. It ripped through the velvet, and the bracelet rose in the air, almost as if of its own accord. The bracelet transformed to gauntlet form for a split second, then launched itself at Natalie, landing on her exposed right wrist, simultaneously transforming once again into a gauntlet. A shot rang out once more, and the sound of metal on metal confused Natalie, prepared for the shot, and unable to defend herself after dropping her gun minutes before. She raised her head, and started at the sight of the gauntlet. Norman walked up to her from behind. Natalie spun around, her heavy braid flying. She instinctively raised her right hand, as Norman pulled the trigger once more. The bullet ricocheted off of the gauntlet, and into the exposed piping on the left wall. The pipe exploded, and Natalie ducked, plunging into darkness as her head hit the floor.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"She's coming to," a warbled voice said.

"What the fuck happened," Natalie said in a raspy voice.

"There was a gas explosion. Three people were in the building. Only you survived."

"Kat! where's Katarina. Where is she," Natalie began hyperventilating.

"Katarina Devough?" Another voice said. Natalie's eyes were still blurry.

"Yes, where is she. She wasn't in the building."

"I'm sorry Detective. Your partner was shot with a high voltage tazer. She went into shock, and didn't survive."

Natalie's steadily clearing eyes began to blur again. This time with tears. "I gotta call her husband Dorian," Natalie muttered.

"Already been done," the voice said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Natalie ," another voice, different from the other - clearer, "Natalie , the blade is yours," it whispered. 

A light flashed in front of her eyes, and Natalie moaned at the brightness. 

"Natalie Demino. You are the new wielder," A woman only slightly shorter than Natalie said in a throaty voice.

Natalie thought the woman to be rather pretty, "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh," the woman said, "you've a temper only rivaled by my own. Aren't I proud," she said sarcastically. "Bullshit aside. I'm the last wielder. Sarah Pezzini. Former homicide detective."

"Wielder," Natalie said flatly. "Wielder of what?"

"That bracelet on your wrist," the woman - Sarah said. "The Witchblade is its name. Oh, and before I forget, I'm not going to pull the cryptic shit on you like they did on me unless I have to. Consider yourself lucky." Sarah said wryly.

"You were a cop?" Natalie asked, "Why the hell did you get the Witchblade?"

"Yeah," Sarah said wistfully. "I got it because I was destined to," she said using air quotes. "It was in my bloodlines, as it is in yours."

"Bullshit," Natalie frowned. "How are we related? I'm black and you most certainly aren't."

"What gave it away?" Sarah said sarcastically. "Was it the chestnut colored hair? Maybe it was the distinctly pale skin."

"Again, bullshit," Natalie said with a slight smile. "How am I the wielder?" Natalie said imitating Sarah's air quotes.

"I don't know. We're distant relatives." Sarah replied in an exasperated voice. "Can I just get on with the Witchblade's story? I didn't get humored with answers to my questions, why should you?"

"Whatever, continue."

"To make a millennia long story short, our bloodline is that of a warrior. We are all descendants of past wielders. It's this whole 'history repeating itself' thing," she said using more air quotes. "The wielder - you, me - the sexy protector, the fake ass bitches formally known as pretenders, the crazy mother fuckers trying to take the gauntlet, the fallen compadré, the adoption, the abandonment, hot sex, you know the works."

Natalie snickered softly at the 'hot sex' comment. "Why?" She asked simply.

"Because since the beginning of all this shit, their has been a war between good and evil. The Witchblade is meant to balance the light and dark. Look at it this way; you get superhuman powers, and a hottie of a protector. Mine was a sexy motherlover. Whew," Sarah joked. "Seriously, it isn't all that great. You get visions that can give you migraines, and people from other realms trying to kill you. Hey," Sarah said suddenly, "can you use a sword, and a katana? You'll need to learn how."

"I lived in Japan with my mother," Natalie said laughing, "of course I know how. I took fencing lessons when I was 12 too. I can hold my own," she said in a sullen voice. 

"Memories," Sarah commented in a soft voice, "they can hurt like hell. So..." Sarah trailed off, "Why are you taking this so easily?"

"Uh, because it's a dream - a figment of my imagination and its utter discontentment. I mean, seriously, Witchblade? Get real. Damn, I'm enjoying this dream. It's pretty fun, you know, the whole dream about super-humans, hotties, and motherlovers bit," Natalie said easily.

Sarah sighed, "I hope I didn't act like this," she muttered.

"I'm not going to argue with a dream-person. My computer has more imagination than this. I have games that are more interesting. I mean, if this were real, then all I've ever known would pretty much be a shit-faced lie. Who wants that, eh?"

Sarah sighed, "I see you'll have to learn the hard way. May Joan have mercy on your soul."

"I resent that," a whispering voice hissed from the shadows.

"This is too much." Natalie laughed again, then to her utter surprise the shadowy place where she had been standing faded, and the shadows replaced by white hospital walls.

__

The blade has chosen it's new wielder, master," a man that embodies tall, dark and handsome says.

"Good. And who is the new wielder?"

"A cyber crime detective by the name of Natalie Demino, Sir."

A humongous black chair turns with an electronic whir. A thin man with a crop of white hair is reclined in it's recesses. 

"Thank you, Alexander."

"What will my job be, Mr. Irons?"

"Just watch her for now."


	2. The Funeral of Katarina Devough

AUTHOR'S NOTES: 

Why thank yah Lily. I feel special.

Eli, I know what you're gonna say. "Where the hell were yah." I was too depressed to write. Still am actually. That's why I'm writing about the funeral instead of getting mah ass on with the story.

DIVA MERCURY! You read my story! Yay! Does her happy quackin' dance.

I waited a while, but here it is. Without further ado…….. 

**_______________________________________________________________________**

_"I just don't get you chief. Why not just give up," Gabe said with a wry smirk._

_"Would you give up?"_

_"In your position, yes."_

_"The Gabe I knew wouldn't."_

_"The Gabriel you knew is dead."_

_Not so dead yet." The wielder raised the activated Witchblade. "Key word there is… Can you guess?"_

_"Yet."_

_"Ding, ding, ding. Give the possessed bastard a prize. Get out of him."_

_"What if I don't want to?"_

_"You will."_

_"And why is that, m'dear?"_

_"Who really wants to be blamed for the death of a cop. You're not Irons anymore."_

_"You wouldn't."_

_"Would I?"_

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**:: : :: c h a p t e r . .:. . t w o :: : ::**

Natalie wasn't prepared for the caskets lowering. She didn't cry, Natalie never cried. She didn't cry when her parents died. She won't cry now. 

Nuh uh.

Scrupulously, Natalie turned her head away and wiped her eyes_. Big girls don't cry._ She grabbed the end of her ponytail and yanked it. Hard _What a way to go, _she thought. _A fucking tazer. _Natalie's frown deepened_. How many times was she shot with real guns? Five? Seven? A fucking tazer was what did her in_. Natalie scowled as she heard Dorian break down crying. _Big girls don't cry, remember? _The persistent sound of a grown man's sobs finally drove the anger back into Natalie. Her constant scowl was in place once again.

She read the headstone absentmindedly. 

_Katarina Francesca Devough_

_August 2, 1982 ~ January 17, 2010_

_Mother. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Wife._

_Protector of the people._

_May her journey bring her peace._

_'Life's a bitch, then you die.'  That's what I want on my headstone_, she thought. Her stomach turned as the first shovel full of dirt was thrown, noiselessly. 

"That's not mommy in there," Tabitha, Katarina's five year old, infinitely wise daughter, said. "Mommy said that when people get tah go to heaven they don't wanna be here no more." Stronger than her father, it seemed, tears only glistened in her eyes. She _knew_ her mommy was happy and watching over her.

Natalie succumbed to the tears. The sight of the small child, a baby really, comforting the giant of a man that was supposed to keep the monsters away, broke her. 

Natalie turned to Dorian and sighed. "I'm sorry," was all she said.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

_"Isn't it a little wrong to be here?" Alexander asked into the miniscule communicator._

_"Do your job. You weren't trained to question orders." Irons answered sardonically. _

_"Yes sir."_


	3. The Party Part One

**Prophetic:** I'm feeling loved! No longer am I the depressed evil bitch I was! This is the kind of stuff that makes a sistah update!

**Eli:** I'm feeling all confident and stuff. *Grins* You like me! You really like me! I am so happy. Alexander is going to be Super-Ian, because Ian is beautiful and is the best-est, most hottest, protector in the whole wide world of Bob.

**Chapter Three:**

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**_The Party - Part One_**

Natalie wasn't used to this kind of thing. Formal events weren't on her agenda at all. She would much rather sit at a bar and drown in her grief. When she received the invitation to Kenneth Irons' Vorslag Industries party she laughed. How did they even know who she was? The cyber crime unit wasn't well known. Their funding had nearly been cut four times in the years since she had joined. How did one of the richest companies in New Greenwich know who she was? It was unreal.

Her friend Angie was no help either. Lacking a dress was Natalie's excuse for not attending the opening. Angie, when she heard this excuse, took Natalie to Nu Barney's a derivative of the famous, or in Natalie's eyes, infamous store, and promptly picked a dress out.

The slinky black number that set Natalie back a good three hundred pesos wasn't what she would normally call formal wear. Seeing the clothing other women wore changed her mind. The thin material made Natalie itch. 

"Beauty is… _discomfort_," Angie said when Natalie complained.

"Beauty my ass. It's too damn cold for this."

Natalie sighed as she sipped the Martell her new partner, Cheryl Jones, had given her.

Getting faded wasn't one of her top priorities.

Natalie sighed exasperatedly. Irons was yet to be seen.

She looked at the excessively decorated gala and prayed that she wouldn't have to use the gun in her leg holster. Not comfortable, but the compact, against regulations, weapon was her favorite.

A tall man entered the room and wasn't noticed. He clung to the walls-hiding in the shadows. _Great_, Natalie thought_. Security guard_.

The security guard turned slightly in her direction. A vague shift in the way his mouth was set changed his appearance greatly: longish black hair that curled behind his head in a thick braid; his deceptively innocent eyes held a childlike glee when he saw her and pursed his full lips. _Good Lord_, Natalie thought, _this man is beautiful_.

The next entrance drew more attention. A pale man with equally pale hair entered the ballroom. Versace suits are not uncommon in this circle, so it wasn't his expensive taste in clothes.

"Welcome the reason behind this celebrations," the Master of ceremonies announced from the slightly elevated stage. "Kenneth Irons."

Natalie flinched slightly at the applause. So _this_ was Irons.


	4. The Party Part Two Marry me, Alex

**Chapter Four:__**

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**_The Party - Part Two_**

**_And then they meet… and the world suffered._**

Natalie inched towards the wall opposite from the group of giggly women surrounding the billionaire. He didn't pay attention to the women falling out of their dresses; there was one in particular that he was searching for. Irons' eyes scanned the crowd. He was too late. Natalie had already seated herself at a table in a far corner. Her hair wasn't down, so she was practically unrecognizable. 

"Ms. Demino, Mr. Irons would like to converse with you after the party's end," a deep, fairly gravely voice said from behind Natalie. She whirled around to see the security guard standing behind her in a submissive stance with hands behind his back, and his head down. His dark eyelashes were pressed against his cheeks in an odd way. They were long, almost too long to be even a woman's. 

"I'll be there," was Natalie's simple answer.

* *~* *

The hallway was intimidating. It was filled with paintings. Some were reproductions, others weren't. The statues that stood on small, white, Greek pillars looked ready to topple over. The stark black and white colors were harsh on Natalie's eyes.

"How much longer?" She asked in a bored voice.

"Three doors to go," was the security guard's -Alexander's- reply. 

Three doors turned out to be 5 minutes. When they reached the aforementioned door, Natalie could only see a faint outline in the wall. Alexander pressed the top left corner, then the middle, the top right corner, then the middle again, then the bottom in the center, back to the middle, then the place where a knob would have been one of the earlier doors. Natalie filed the code into her brain for possible use later.

She walked into the room with her muscles tense. A huge black chair was turned away from her, facing a floor to ceiling window. With an electric whir it turned around. Natalie froze, sensing that Alexander had returned to the submissive stance that she had managed to talk him out of for a few minutes. Mr. Irons was seated in the chair with a smirk on his face. 

"Ms. Demino, nice to finally meet you in person," he said without removing the smirk. He had a predatory gleam in his eyes.

Natalie shifted uncomfortably. "I wish I could say the same," she said with little inflection in her voice.

Irons smiled, it matched the gleam in his eyes. "Please sit." He gestured to the seat in front of the huge onyx desk. Natalie complied warily. "I have asked you to attend this event to discuss a bracelet which may have come into your possession." Natalie glanced involuntarily at her right hand. "It disappeared from an exhibit that was destroyed last month. You were one of the few people in the area that had access to the exhibit when you followed a criminal there, if I am correct."

Natalie nodded, but didn't offer more.

"I have reason to believe," Irons said, "that the bracelet has come into your possession."

Natalie did not respond she merely tilted her head to the side reminiscent of a small dog, inquiringly. "And why would you believe that?"

Irons smiled again, the same predatory smile that he flashed upon first meeting. "Because it is sitting on your wrist," he said nonchalantly.

The stone in the center of the bracelet flashed, illuminating the stark room with a red glow for a moment. "How can you be so sure? It's a family heirloom." Natalie smiled mockingly. 

"So you have encountered your predecessors." Irons stated, rather that questioned. "I'm willing to bet that you have heard all about your past and your future."

"You would win that bet." Natalie said with a slight frown.

The stone on her wrist pulsated slightly. It wanted to send Natalie a vision, but she forced it back.

Irons looked imploringly at her. "I see." He said under his breath. "We could accomplish much together, you and I. Ms. Demino, may I call you Natalie?"

"No."

"Natalie," Irons said with a smirk, "it would be in your best interest to allow me to help you. I know the blade's secrets. I can help you control it." He smirked again.

"I do not want, nor do I need, you assistance," Natalie said with little intonation in her voice. "I will be leaving now."

"Beware, Natalie Demino," Irons said, "I am a formidable foe. Much more that the _Internet_," he said the word with disdain, "hackers you have so happily disposed of."

Natalie smiled. "That's what I counted on."

_"I believe she may be stronger than we first believed," Alexander said softly._

_"I know she is. She is cunning, beautiful, and strong. A worthy wielder. She will take some convincing, but rest assured that I am going to handle it." Irons grinned. "I rather like this one."_

_Alexander nodded with his eyes still on the ground. If his master had looked up from his brandy, he would have seen the flash of fierce hatred in Alexander's eye._

**A/N:** Soooooooooo Alex isn't as much of a wimp when it comes to Irons as my beloved Ian was. Hmmmm.

**TO MY BELOVED REVIEWERS:**

**Eli**: I am in a happy, lovey-dovey mood at the moment. Can you tell? I hope not. I am not intending for there to be much fluff between Alex and Nat, but yah never know what could happen…

**Nanz**: Why thank yah! I'm glad yah like it.

**Divamercury**: I just can't get over this picture of Alex in my head. HE IS THE ULTIMATE SEX SYMBOL!

**DragonGrrrl:** Y'know what? That made my day. I'm glad folks notice the details. It tells me ya'll actually read the story. 

**I WUV ALL OF MY REVIEWERS! I WUV YOU!**

MORE TO COME 

_See that adorable little blue button right there? _

_It says go._

_Yeah, that one. _

_Press it._

_That's a good reader. Press the blue button._

_Type encouraging comments. _

_Type constructive critisizm._

_Now. _

_See that OTHER blue button?_

_Press that one._

_Now was that so difficult?_


	5. La La La, such a stupid chapter

**Chapter Five:__**

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He bit her ear softly, whispering sweet nothings that didn't reach her in her frenzied state. Grasping his neck she pulled him to her. His long eyelashes brushing her cheeks as he continued his soft assault on her mouth. He moaned as her nails ground into his back. The pressure of him on top of her was too much. She wrapped her legs around him and bit his lip, nearly drawing blood. She could feel him against her. He nibbled on her bottom lip before dipping his tongue into her mouth. She moaned in turn. The soft candle lit room seemed charged with electricity. He pulled at the strings of the corset that bound her together. She pulled it from her arms violently. He began the slow trail from her neck to her cleavage. He dipped his head down slightly and took her nipple into his mouth. She winced as his teeth brushed the wrinkled skin. He removed the tunic he wore with one graceful movement. She gasped as his hot flesh brushed against-

*BEEP*

Natalie awoke damp with sweat. She glared at the handmade robot that made the noise that caused her to wake from her dreams.

"Zeta," she said crossly, "what did I say about waking me up on my off days?"

"But Nat, you were crying out," the robot said in a mock-innocent voice.

"I hate you."  
  


"You made me. I'm like your daughter, or something along the lines of that. Besides, there _is_ a reason for me risking your _wrath_. A Mr. Kenneth Irons has requested that you accompany him to the laser show at Central Park tomorrow. Why haven't I heard of this fellow? Is he the one that made you go, 'God yes'?" Zeta's face smirked from the computer screen.

Natalie flushed slightly. "He is the devil incarnate. He must be killed. Do it for me, Zee?" Natalie said sarcastically.

"Nope. I don't do your dirty work… For the most part, anyway."

"Call him and say not in any way, shape, or form."

"Yes dear. I'll do that, just for you."

"Love yah!"

"Shut up and go back to sleep."

"Mmmph." Natalie was back in her deep slumber by then.

_The dark figure was breathing hard from the workout he had just performed. Six men, Mongolian in descent, were positioned to harm the wielder. That wasn't going to happen._

He looked into her window, and was sudden pulled into a rigid sitting position. A vision overcame him. He flushed at the happening.

A/N: That was just a lil teaser as well as an introduction to Zeta (which is how you say "Z" in Spanish). Sounded kind of like a cheesy romance novel, didn't it? So what!


	6. Poor Vittorio The Vampire

Chapter Six: Poor Vittorio The Vampire Natalie tapped her fingers on the computer screen. Do you want to save this document? The popup asked. Natalie pressed her fingertip to the "yes" button. Another day, another report, she thought dismally. Natalie laid her head on the desk. Thirty-three separate cases of fraud in two days. It had all been traced to a woman - a girl really - named Kit. She was an expert hacker and now the unit is trying to recruit her. The bitch'll probably take the job if it means she ain't got to go to jail and really become someone's bitch, Natalie grinned. Natalie coincidentally forgot about how she came to be a member the cyber crime department, which was almost exactly the same way. She frowned when she felt the chill of the air conditioning system on the back of her neck. It reminded her of what caused her to lose her mind long enough to go to a hairdresser and get her hip length hair hacked off in a deranged pixie-cut.  
  
"I am very fond of your hair. I envision it curtaining us while we embrace in frenzied, passionate, heady sex." Natalie's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose. "I find that very hard to believe, Mr. Irons." "Oh, but it will come to be." "In your dreams." "Precisely." It actually looked good on her. The new looks she received from fellow members of New York's finest showed that well enough. It showed off her high forehead and the pretty arch of her eyebrows. It showcased her slanted eyes and her full mouth. It made her already prominent cheekbones seem to be cut from marble in their perfection. It made her elegant neck just ooze sex appeal. Or so the horny idiots from homicide thought. The feather tresses of blue-black hair, straight out of the movie (her adopted parents had tried to prohibit her from seeing when she was a kid) Swordfish. Halle Berry was sort of Natalie's idol at one point in time. "Nat," Cheryl said in her best enticing voice. "What the fuck do you want now?"  
  
"Well, I kind-of promised Kendra that we'd go out to drink with her." Cheryl said, nearly under her breath. "No." "But I promised!" Cheryl insisted. "No." "Please!" "What the fuck have I said twice already?" "I'll buy you dinner." "No." "Fine! I get Kelley to make you dinner!" Cheryl broke out the big guns. Kelley was her older sister, a woman who could cook the hell out of chicken. "Okay. Where?" "Mackey's Tower of Soul." "Okay. I expect my home cooked meal to be very complicated and delicious." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Dirty martini, shaken with one olive," Cheryl said to the bartender. The stiff moving machine made the drink and placed the pretty glass in front of her. "What's your pleasure, Nat," Cheryl said jokingly. "Rum and coconut milk. On the rocks," Natalie deadpanned. "Lighten up. You know you are having a good time!" Cheryl exclaimed. "Come on," she said grabbing her drink, "let's dance." Natalie followed her to the dance floor where few people did more than rub up against each other. "Girl, check out that fine guy," Kendra said nodding in the guy's direction. "He is gor-ge-ous!" Natalie, almost involuntarily, turned in the direction in which Kendra pointed. She sighed and left the small group of awe-struck women. "Alex, what are you doing here?" Thank you dragongrrl, Scooter, Prophetic, Divamercury, Nanz, and Eli. 


	7. Maybe, If I Put My Arms Like So… has not...

OH MY GOD. IS THIS AN UPDATE I SEE? JESUS CHRIST! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? 

On a more serious note, if I keep getting nice reviews *hint* maybe I will update with more regularity.

I was writing this chapter after reading the others, and I realized how Mary-Sue-esque Natalie seemed. All pretty and smart and talented… and I decided to darken her past up a bit. I mention that she lived in Japan for a while. I say that she was kidnapped and that was when her parents died and she was sent to an adoptive family.

**On a different note:**

_What the fuck happened to Sarah!_

I'll just tell you what happened, iight. Sara began to have a relationship with Ian. Irons was ignorant of this fact for a long while. When he found out, an injection was administered to Sara (on the sly) that made her see things. She hallucinated various things that eventually led her to believe the cycle in which the Witchblade rests would be broken at her death. Deliriously, she took her own life using the short-blade that the Witchblade comes equipped with. As she died, the Witchblade sent her a vision of what happened. Ian was furious. Irons did not appreciate that. He got rid of him after little deliberation, and got a new, updated version of the assassin. (Long eyelashes to protect his eyes, thicker skin to protect his body, etc.)

_____________________________________________________

**_SUMMARY OF THE PAST MONTH_**

     Kat didn't know what the fuck was going on. After a crash course at the academy, she was put on the task force. Coincidentally, she was partnered with a woman named Cheryl, and her sidekick Natalie. The lack of rotation guaranteed closeness for the partners. What she couldn't get was Natalie. She would talk to herself. She could type at least 600 words a minute. Sometimes she seem to know stuff before it happened. It was crazy! Maybe Kat needed to lay off the websites that were sure to leave her wondering if she was psychic or not, but she could have sworn…

*

     Cheryl was really starting to work her nerves. With the dinners and bars and even the shopping trips, she was slowly driving Natalie crazy. She was going to snap any day now. Maybe not now, maybe not next week, but soon. She could tell. What with the camera she found position with a wonderful view of her steamer-stall, Alex was being of no help. Maybe Irons is the pervert, but Alex was just as bad. Turning up when she was changing clothes or working out, bringing her rose hybrids, buying her home gym equipment, he even bought her a new bike. Natalie was flattered to an extent, but this was bordering on psycho. The problem was, it was wearing her down.

*

     Okay. Maybe the new weights were a little much, but it's not like she won't use them. Alex didn't understand why she was so angry with him. He thought she'd like them!

*

     I'll get her. I know I will. Maybe not for a while, but Natalie Demino is as good as mine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Chapter Seven:

Maybe, If I Put My Arms Like So…

    A 27-year-old man was found in an alley on the corner of Broadway in a black Versace suit and gator boots. Rich for certain. Why his wallet was found intact with five hundred dollars was the question. The wealthy man was Internet tycoon Tyler Summit, the owner, or former owner, of Digi-Indie, a software distributor. That was the only reason homicide and the cyber-crime units were teaming up for the time being. Natalie was not enjoying it.

     "So," David Potter drawled, "how about me and you go get a bite to eat?"

     Normally, Natalie would at least go out on the one dinner, but the thought of Alex following her around changed her mind. "No thanks, maybe some other time." Subconsciously, she knew she had feelings for the assassin. Romantic feelings. But she didn't know how to make it right in her head to go along with her heart.

     "Girl," Cheryl exclaimed, "how can you not like him! He is too sexy!"

     "You go out with him, then." Natalie looked back at the body of the man. "Did they take a blood sample?" Cheryl shook her head. "Get a syringe from the M.D. He was more than likely poisoned. No outside markings are seen." Natalie yelled at the uniform nearest to her. "I don't want him moved until we get the sample back, okay. Rope off the area."

     Natalie felt the Witchblade nudging her consciousness. 'Not now,' she told her. "I'll be back, Cheryl. Make sure nobody goes too close, iight?" Natalie jogged to the jeep Cheryl and the kid arrived in, and popped the lock. 

_     Tyler was sitting in front of a familiar desk. The electronic whir Natalie had come to hate revealed Irons to the man. He frowned as they talked. Natalie could hear nothing, though. Irons smirked at the much younger man's back, and leaned forward into his desk. 'I want him disposed of,' Natalie finally heard. _

_     The Witchblade jolted her to a vision of a very short, very dark man in a restaurant. He slipped a tiny piece of a leaf that looked very similar to parsley on a plate left unattended. Seconds later, Tyler Summit sat in front of the plate and took a bite of the pasta._

_     'It can't be traced,' the Witchblade told Natalie. 'It will look like a heart attack. There is no proof._

_     'But he is known for taking very, very good care of his body. Even if a heart condition runs in his family, it wouldn't manifest in his body. It would be too suspicious. People will wonder why he was in the alley anyway,' Natalie answered the blade._

_     'A prostitute was paid to say he was with her. She will say when he fell and wouldn't get up, she ran away to avoid police.'_

_     'So there is no way to prove it was the bastard?' Natalie asked._

_     'You got it in one,' the blade answered._

     A knock at the door jolted Natalie from her conversation. 

     "We've got to get back to the station," Kat said looking at the detective uneasily.

     "Come on, then," Natalie answered and gestured to Cheryl. She slipped the key in the ignition. Kat still had a funny look on her face. "What?" Natalie asked.

     "Nothing. Nothing at all," Kat answered with a slight frown.


	8. OH MY, IT'S SO SHORT

     Cyber-Homicide, Cyber-Crime, and Homicide together in one case makes one group of ornery people. David's constant pestering were bad enough as is was, but coupled with the incessant hum of 12 computers, the ceaseless 'tap-tapping' of fingers on the keyboard, and endless emails from a very persistent stalker, Natalie was going crazy. After finding, three more emails, and an obscene instant message, Natalie gave up, and pulled Cheryl away from following a cyber-crime uniform she found sexy. They went to lunch and talked about the futility of dating.

~*~

     "There was another one," Cheryl called to her partners. Kat rose from her desk and stretched her short limbs. Natalie didn't rise from her spot in front of her desk.

     "Yeah, give me a minute she said, still reading whatever was on her screen dejectedly.

_Natalie,_

_     Resolve is a quality I often find attractive._

_I am determined, myself. But it has come to_

_my attention that you do not reciprocate any_

_of the many feelings I have for you. Because_

_of this, I have decided to no longer beleaguer_

_you with my unrequited feelings._

_Sincerely,_

_Alexander Christian Nottingham_

     Natalie rose from her desk chair and pulled on her jacket. She ignored the slight burning sensation in her chest when she spoke, and followed Cheryl and Kat to visit the murdered body of a Digi-Indie executive. 

     "Hey, what were you reading?" Kat asked.

     "Nothing important."

~*~

     "It expressing my feelings openly didn't work, then I guess playing hard to get will have to," a certain sexy assassin mumbled to himself. 

__________________

_Okay. I know it's short. I just read Eli's update and I felt bad for not having one. So I wrote this in about five minutes. Sowwy I didn't make it longer. I'll just have to make up for it next time. *Hint*Hint*_

__________________

**IrishRaven **– They didn't wear her down. I'm kinda sad, but it ain't the end. Well, duh... Listen to "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Da Vinci's Notebook. It is a funny song. Very funny. I'm wee-todd-ed. I like the song though. So what if it's a little out there.

**Divamercury** – Girl, why you ain't updating? You are worse than me. It just ain't fair. You are so mean. MEANEY! 

I can't talk.

**Nanz** – Sowwy. You're gonna hafta wait for more Alex and Natalie. 

**Eli **– Ain't nutin wrong with Betty Boop. I always thought she was pretty. :-P Anywayz, you inspired me! Even though it's only like 100 words. I suck! I'm horrible! Forgive me! It's really just a filler, but so what. 


	9. Sex Crazed Chica

Natalie and alcohol do not mix. Especially with rum based drinks. 
    
    Specifically Jamaican rum based drinks. 
    
         That's why Cheryl was taking away the pretty fish-bowl cup 
    
    Natalie was gazing into intently. 
    
         Okay, maybe that sixth round was a little too much, but Natalie 
    
    wanted that big cup, and Natalie gets what she wants. She had about six 
    
    inches and bazillions of muscle on Cheryl. 
    
         Kat wasn't helping, either. After her third drink, a blond guy 
    
    with insanely large eyebrows attracted her attention. Natalie giggled 
    
    and said something about a caterpillar dance. "Look at the little 
    
    yellow caterpillars," she was still mumbling under her breath. "So 
    
    shiny. Shiny caterpillars." She giggled a few more times. 
    
         Cheryl excused her, though. 
    
         She'd already had four and a half drinks, and the music was sort 
    
    of lulling. Metallica music really does that to yah. 
    
         Maybe Cheryl should have stopped her, but when a girl needs a 
    
    stiff drink, she needs a stiff drink. Natalie was so going to kill her in 
    
    the morning.
    
    ~*~
    
         Natalie woke up pissed and she stayed that way for the whole day. 
    
    It wasn't a hangover. She never really had hangovers. Nope. It was 
    
    that damn bracelet!
    
         Usually, she could hold off the visions until she was alone. Or 
    
    even function like she wasn't seeing thousands of years into the past, 
    
    but not today. Maybe it was the fact that she was "menstruating like 
    
    a motha-fucka," as Kat put it. Maybe it was because her bike got a 
    
    flat and she had to use the gorgeous, sleek motorcycle that the assassin 
    
    gave her. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because she was sad.
    
         Every five minutes she would see a vision of either sand dunes or 
    
    very, very large knives. Sometimes, just for fun, the Witchblade would 
    
    throw in images from the freaky dreams she kept having. She blamed it 
    
    all on the assassin. 
    
         That pompous idiot who ignored her. Every now and then she'd see 
    
    him tailing her with a bored look on his face. Doing Irons' dirty 
    
    work, she supposes. 
    
         Thinking of Irons only served to piss her off more.
    
         Even that bastard was starting to look good, she was so damn 
    
    horny. Two months without getting any can serve to make a very irritable 
    
    woman. Very. So irritable, in fact, that Cheryl was tempted to get one of 
    
    the male prostitutes who complained that prostituting should be made 
    
    legal in all states brought in by uniformed officers, which, 
    
    consequently, were turning Natalie on with the tight pants. Sex crazed wielders 
    
    were not easily negotiated with. Not at all.
    
         Not only was Natalie on her period, horny as hell, and being 
    
    harassed, but she also couldn't find her goddamn man. Three weeks and 
    
    already the soon-to-be-serial killer had offed four people. 
    
         All working for Digi-Indie.  
    
         Homicide and the Cyber unit were still joined at the proverbial 
    
    hip! 
    
         David's constant badgering and bragging about how smart he was 
    
    was beginning to grate on Natalie's nerves. Every other day he claimed 
    
    to have a lead he needed to discuss with Natalie. All of them fell through. 
    
         _Three times_ the blade activated on it's own. _Three times_. The second
    
     time she could have sworn her wrist was forced in the direction of David's desk. 
    
         The dumb ass man didn't even have an office.
    
         Natalie was not having a good day, hell; she wasn't having a 
    
    good lifetime.


	10. I'm So Bad

The saddest sight you'll ever see is a freshly covered grave. Droplets of freshly melting snow covered the smooth, marble tombstone. He ran his fingers over the words; his eyes blurred with unshed tears. Bright morning light reflected streams of light into his eyes, as he stubbornly refused to cry. But sometimes crying is all you can do.  
  
"You broke the cycle," he said.  
  
He glared at his hands. Hands that didn't - couldn't - save the woman he loved. He furiously wiped his eyes, and glanced at the stone protruding from the ground before moving away.  
  
'Natalie Isanti Demino.' 


	11. An Update, After 4 Months

Nanz, and now I'm back, from outer space! I'M BACK! OH YEAH! I'M BACK! WHOOP! WHOOP!  
  
Punk'd, y'all make me happy. Very happy! I have a beta though. *Grumbles at Beta* Thank you, though.   
  
I'm so polite!  
  
Eli, I'm a bad, bad girl. Bad. :) I'm crazy, ain't I? I couldn't wait to post it... I was too excited... Sorry...  
  
At http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/PrettyLeaves.BMP, http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/PRETTY.BMP, and http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/Preetty.BMP are two versions of the "ad" for this story.   
  
I was trying to figure out how to work my photo manipulating software I have a trial for. I'll make more soon. I almost have it down pat, now!  
  
A basic idea of what Natalie looks like can be found at http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/22.jpg.  
  
For Natalie post-hair cut, go to http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/37.jpg.   
  
She "is" Cindy Kurleto.  
  
For Alex, go to http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/W.jpg.  
  
If you want to see a picture of Alex with short hair, go to http://www.geocities.com/maya_bee@sbcglobal.net/mag04.jpg.  
  
He "is" J. R. Gallison.  
  
And Now,   
  
The Long Awaited Chapter Eleven!  
  
Alex jolted awake. His breath coming in short gasps, he looked around the minimalist-style room. He couldn't remember the dream that made him so terrified. His breathing slowed, and he crawled slowly out of the bed. His chest and throat ached for some unidentifiable reason.   
  
Alex ran his fingers through his hair and headed towards the bureau. Pulling on the first thing he could reach, he stalked towards the door, only to remember that he forgot shoes. Yanking on black leather boots, he once more walked towards the door.  
  
He crepts silently through the mansion, not bothering to go through the house, and avoiding security cameras easily. The gate presented no problem. He took a giant leap, making sure the gloves he'd pulled onto his hands were on correctly. Slight shocks got through the leather, but he ignored it, and hopped over, landing gracefully on the other side.  
  
Alex ran the short distance to his motorcycle, and began the short ride to Natalie's apartment. Something told him that she was in trouble.  
  
When he got there, scaling the fire escape, Alex swiftly traveled to her window, and leaned closer to see through the reflections.  
  
Natalie was sitting on her couch, sobbing into a worn book. Jimmying a piece of metal that emerge from his pocket underneath the window pain, Alex broke in, quietly opening the screen. The sound of the metal catching alerted Natalie to her uninvited guest.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she demanded in a scratchy voice, wiping the tears away roughly.  
  
Alex climbed through the window. "I don't want you to hurt," was all he said. Natalie's angry face softened a little. "Why are you sad?"  
  
Natalie scoffed, "Like you don't know." The tears began to flow again.  
  
Alex turned toward the book that Natalie had thrown down when he came in. It was a photo album. He walked towards it, careful not to anger Natalie.  
  
Picking it up by the opened flap, Alex turned the book over, and looked at the single picture on the right side. It was of a little girl and Natalie, standing side by side hugging. On the left side was a picture of a younger looking Natalie holding a little boy on her lap.  
  
Alex looked up questioningly. "Why did this make you cry?"  
  
Natalie flinched at the word 'cry.' "They were my little brother and sister.." She turned away from Alex, and walked towards her kitchen, leaning towards the still steaming pot of water on the stove. Picking the pot up, and carefully pouring it into a small glass, she mixed in a small packet of herbs. The scent of lemons and oranges began to waft around the apartment. Alex followed her into the breakfast nook, and took a seat across from her.  
  
"They make you cry?"  
  
Natalie snorted. "Don't you already know all of this?"  
  
Alex shook his head. "No. I was not allowed to know anything about you. I was supposed to do my job, watch you, know where you were. Not care about you."  
  
Natalie raised her eyebrows, but didn't meet his steady gaze. "They were killed. A car accident. My sister just got her license, and was treating my family to a dinner to celebrate. Someone rammed into them." Natalie shrugged. "About six years ago, now."  
  
Alex leaned towards her and took her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." He brought her hand to his lips, and kissed her palm. Natalie looked at his lips, worshipping them. They looked fuller when he wasn't frowning. Her breathing hitched slightly, and she leaned forward. Alex looked into her eyes, and leaned towards her as well.  
  
Rock With You, by Michael Jackson began to play.  
  
Natalie pulled back swiftly, and reached for her coat on the chair behind Alex. Pulling out her phone and backing away from him hurriedly, she answered.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Nat, I called to see how you were doing."  
  
'Fine until the phone rang,' Natalie thought, but said aloud, "I'm okay." She looked towards Alex's seat, and her eyes widened.   
  
It was empty, save for a piece of paper from her refrigerator.   
  
It said, 'I'm sorry.' 


	12. I'm Working On Them, Yah Hear I'm Workin...

Eternity's Voice - You get a nice long thank you because you were the only one to read and reviewed my chapter. :-(  
  
Thank you very much for letting me use the spider-web thingy mah-bob analogy... I'll use it one of the upcoming chapters.  
  
I see that you've caught what I have been trying to get by without doing. ;-P...   
  
I'd gotten so frustrated at how little I tried to develop the characters, and I, well, I wanted to fix it, but I'm lazy, so... But I am trying to make amends... I told most of this chapter from my twoo bloves point of view.  
  
Also: I must recommend that EVERYONE reads Sabby13's Teacher's Pet. It is an EXCELLENT X-Men: Evolution ficcy, and I LOVE it. :-)  
  
Chapter 12 - Very prompt, for me.  
  
Natalie Demino never wanted to be a cop. She was perfectly happy popping into computer systems, and playing around. After three and a half years of going undetected, a trace was made to her lap top, and at 18, she was arrested. For her crimes, she would have gotten 6 years in a medium security prison. But she was useful, and wouldn't have stayed very long. Being inside would have made it much to easy for her to break out, anyway.   
  
So Natalie was recruited to the newborn Cyber Crime unit, and within a year, moved to cyber homicide, an elite group of former hackers who deal in murders that have any and everything to do with computers.  
  
Natalie was required to work for the NYPD for six years and seven months. It didn't bother her; she got to be on computers almost all day, and got a steady paycheck for basically surfing the net, but then there were the actual field cases. The latest one's were the worst yet.  
  
Natalie slammed through the office doors. "Another one."  
  
Cheryl winced a little bit. "Uh, yeah. 2nd and Bush this time."  
  
  
  
Natalie sighed, and clenched a fist a little bit, "Digi-Indie?"  
  
"Yeah," Cheryl sighed. "Woman this time. Joanne Killbourne. She was a part of the development and research team. Head of it, I think." Cheryl glanced at the digital pad in front of her. "Yeah. She was."  
  
  
  
"Cause of Death?" Natalie asked in an exasperated voice.  
  
  
  
"Unknown... We don't have a damn clue."  
  
Natalie sat down at her desk, waiting for Kat to come in. They were heading back to the scene of the crime.  
  
***  
  
Alex squatted on the rooftop. Looking into her window was his favorite pass time. It sounded sick, but it wasn't. It was dedicated. He'd die for Natalie - and probably would. Alex sat on his haunches, and gazed into her bedroom window. She wasn't at her computer, an unusual occurrence for a former computer hacker. She was in the bathroom, taking a shower, he supposed. He restrained his need to enter the apartment, and clenched his muscles, and held on to the fire escape lightly.  
  
Natalie entered the room with an extremely pissed off look on her face. Her eyebrows were scrunched up and creased in a frown. She flicked the computer on with a frustrated jab, and tightened her hold on her towel simultaneously. Alex's grip on the fire escape tightened, and he fought his urge to simply smash the window in and kiss Natalie's frowning lips.  
  
Natalie called up the Internet, and went to the NYPD website, and opened the search engine. She typed in criteria. Even with his excellent sight, Alex couldn't distinguish between letters. A picture was called up. While it loaded, Natalie rose from her seat, and began to get dressed. The swift, jerky movements of her arms alerted Alex to her knowledge of his presence.  
  
He sighed, and after she had finished, pushed in the open window. She didn't turn around at the noise, and sat at her computer chair. Her wrists lay on the keyboard and she held her head down. The muscles in her neck were tight, and grew tenser the closer Alex came to her.   
  
"You always sit out there," Natalie said. She turned around slightly, relying mostly on her peripheral vision to see him. "I figured you might get lonely since it's getting so cold." Natalie turned by to the computer screen, and began typing with quick jerks of her fingers. "It's some tea on the stove," she said in an ironic voice, "make yourself at home."  
  
Alex was confused, she hated him, right? She should hate him. He spied on her for her worst enemy, and he was a thief, a murderer. She should hate him. But for some reason, she was welcoming him into her home. Alex sat down in the closest of the two chairs adjacent to her desk, and looked at the back of her exposed neck. The muscles were not as tense. She typed away, browsing the search engine's database. The third search in a row came up empty. Alex rose to his feet, looking decidedly away from the computer.  
  
"What are you looking for?" He asked. "Maybe I could help."  
  
"If you could help me with this, I would have to arrest you," Natalie replied. "She turned her head towards where Alex was standing, and smiled at him. "I'm looking for a particular person, and I am having a little trouble."  
  
"Who?" Alex asked, returning to his seat, and scooting closer to Natalie's. She didn't say anything for a while, and the only sound was their breathing, and her swift key strokes.   
  
"Someone that is connected with a few murders," Natalie finally said with a sigh. "Someone connected with a few very important murdered people."  
  
"May I be of any help?" Alex asked hesitantly. He stood from the overstuffed chair, and leaned a little over Natalie's shoulder. Natalie's head tilted and she looked towards the swirling bracelet on her wrists.  
  
"Not gonna happen," she whispered. "What the hell, he'll see it anyway," Natalie mumbled. "A company is suffering from a few losses. A few important losses." Natalie smirked a little and tilted her head towards Alex, a little surprised at how close he was. "You know, sometimes I have to curb my urge to just hack into computers. It's so easy. A few clicks, a couple quick tricks, and I'm in. I only have a few more years in my sentence, you know. It's already been two, four more to go, and I'm free as a naked ass flasher before getting caught. Freeballing," Natalie said, not thinking before speaking. She cringed a little as Alex laughed.  
  
Alex's laughs slowed as Natalie closed the browser window, and put the computer into sleep mode. She turned around in her chair, and leaned on her elbows against the desktop. "You know, I already have a few offers," Natalie said with no inflection in her voice. "A company called Aluminum Distribution." Natalie looked into Alex's eyes, "You'd think he'd be a little more subtle, wouldn't you." She turned the swivel chair back around to the computer, flicking through disks until she found what she was looking for. She slid it into the computer. "Tell Irons that the spy-ware is easily detected." She moved the mouse. "Any mediocre hacker could have gotten through his defenses." She didn't turn around, expecting Alex to leave. She began to type in a new document, and began to play music.   
  
"I do my job, and my job isn't to be a messenger boy," Alex said, surprising Natalie that he was still there.   
  
Natalie turned around fully, beginning to speak, but was stopped by the empty room before her. She hadn't even heard him leave. Natalie turned back around in her chair, confident that Alex was still there. 'I'm sorry.' she typed in extremely large font on her computer screen, before shutting it down and laying down in her bed.  
  
Alex smiled a little, and leaned back on his haunches, not even noticing that his phone was ringing. When he realized it, he flipped it open, and swiftly answered.   
  
"I wonder what could distract you from answering you phone, Alexander," Irons said.  
  
"It won't happen again," Alex answered, his hand shaking a little.  
  
"I know it won't." 


	13. I haven't died

**Eternity's Voice** - Hey, there is pride in being a glorious chunk of male flesh. Lot's of pride. Hmm... I loved my present, and yah see! It works!

**Eli** - I always did like Gabe. _Sigh_. I will bring in a Gabe-like character, but I almost fucked up the whole story line I'd managed to develop while attempting to make this more like the original. And thank you for the encouragement. I need it.

Dragongrrl - Yeah, it seems to not work very well, but I am attempting to find pictures that represent them better anyway. 'Sides, imagining how Alex looks is fun. Really fun. Hehehe. 

_MUAH! I love you all!_

_Oh, and special thankies to Eternity's Voice for the über-cool analogy that starts this chapter off from, _gasps_, the bad-guy's perspective!_

_By the way, to find out the origins of the quote from Eternity's Voice, read _Thief of Spirits_. It is veddy, veddy good.___

**Chapter 13** – It's been a while…

Logging on to the Internet was a thrill for her every time. She turned on the modem, and opened the proverbial windows to the reality she craved. She was the spider in the great web that she only had to crawl along to reach the juicy moth and drain it dry. _(Oh, that was a good one, girl.)_

Every little bit of information she wanted was hers at the click of her fingers on the keyboard. It was easy, almost too easy, to get into almost every system.  There is a chink in every armor, her mentor used to say. Find the fissure, and exploit it. It worked every time, too.

That is why it was so easy to hack into Digi-Indie's system and make... adjustments to plans.  It was easy to get them into specific places at specific times. It made it easy for her associates to plant the wonderfully undetectable and deadly pearl flower leaf. Nature's greatest invention, she thought.

But as her mentor said, every armor has a fault, and as she did a quick scan of her computer, she noticed one in hers. Oblivious to the sounds of her cats fighting in the kitchen, she studied the disrupted pattern. 

Seconds later, her screen was replaced by a video-satellite image.  The man on the screen told her what to do, and offered her a substantial offer.

She had to take it.

*~*

            After the third murder, a pattern began to show up on the computer's that had been confiscated from the offices of the deceased persons. A code that was the same on all of the hard-drives. Natalie inquired about it, thinking that it was, perhaps, something that existed on all company computers.

            It wasn't. It was a specific hacker code.

            But Natalie couldn't find it anywhere.  Either the hacker was a complete amateur, or someone was setting up a trail to lead them to the origin of the hacker.

Natalie was hoping for the first, but would settle for the latter. Cheryl was the first to notice it. When she asked Natalie if she remembered the code from her old hacking days, Natalie nearly choked.  Of course she didn't, dammit. It had been years... Or maybe months? She couldn't remember.

Maybe that was her way of getting out of recounting her days as a hacker. By having a wonderfully in working order selective memory. It was better, that way. To not remember.

Even if she had known the hacker who was suspiciously on every one of the victims' computers, she wouldn't have remembered. Cheryl didn't know that, though. No matter how many questions she asked, Cheryl knew very little about Natalie's past.

And Natalie wanted to keep it that way.

*~*

            Alex was always there; watching and waiting for a time when Natalie would finally discover the feelings she had subconsciously hidden deep in her brain. She didn't even realize that when she slept at night, it wasn't of silicon chips or ways to update Zeta _('member her?)_ It was of Alex. Their past and future lives together. She didn't know how much she tortured Alex. He would wake up unsatisfied and aroused, not remembering details, but the vague picture was enough to send him into a cold shower immediately.

            All of his lessons in self-control were useless when it came to Natalie. It was about time she realized that. He wasn't going to stand down anymore. He wanted her and he wanted out of Irons' control. It was only a matter of time.

*~*

            Irons found it amusing, how independent his creation had become. He supposed he deserved it, seeing as his attempts to raise the boy in solitude hadn't worked as well as the other's had. Maybe if he'd kept him frozen, growing and learning by the memories and talents being placed in his head. 

His experiments with creating a protector without cloning were in vain.  He was self-determining. He followed orders in his own way, of course, but he put up a fight. A personality suppressant would have been a great investment, he thought. 

In his own twisted way, Irons loved Alex. He was his greatest creation yet. Even with all of his faults, he was relatively perfect. Maybe that is where he went wrong.

            Next time, he would make him ugly and uninteresting. Yes, that would have to be.

_Didya like it? _

_Didyah? _

_Huh?_

_I kind of do. I think I did a pretty good job with minor character developments. Yay! It isn't much of a step up in the whole department, save for the beginning _(Thankies Eternity's!) _but I think I made headway._


	14. A Note and a Story

I have decided that a massive re-write was in order... So, since I have a week off of school, I'm gonna do one!  
  
We're not supposed to have chapters that are just author's notes, so... OH! And I am under a new name... At the moment it is Cheers Darlin, but I'll leave yah with mah numbers 535730...  
  
Alex has a nice ass, Natalie realized. It was made to be worshipped. 'I wonder if he'd notice if I gave it a little pinch?' Natalie thought... *Squink* 


End file.
